this is bbc news. i'm jane hill live in westminster — as parliament is dissolved to allow campaigning for the general election. the eu chief negotiator says there'll be no punishment brexit bill for britain — but the uk must honour its commitments. there is no punishment. there is no brexit bell. the financial settle m e nt brexit bell. the financial settlement is only about settling of the accords. whilst we will meet our international obligations, we mean that the legal ones, not the best guesses and wishes of the commission. labour dismisses conservative claims that its spending pledges don't add up. the shadow chancellor accuses the tories of ‘lies‘. the other news at 11. smartphone users only get access to the ag signal about two thirds of the time — and coverage varies wildly across the country. ten years since the disappearance of madeleine mccann, portuguese detectives say they don't believe the theory she was taken

in a botched burglary. and scientists say they found "shocking" levels of a toxic chemical in the body of one of the uk's few killer whales. good morning, i'mjane hill reporting live from westminster on the day the general election campaign officially gets underway. at midnight last night parliament was officially dissolved, meaning that from today onwards every seat in the house commons is up for grabs. let's bring you up to date with some of the key stories this morning. the eu's chief negotiator on brexit, michel barnier, says britain must honour its obligations as it leaves the eu — and warns departure

will not be quick or painless. later today the prime minister theresa may will visit the queen at buckingham palace to mark the dissolution of parliament. and labour and conservatives have clashed on their tax plans. in the last hour, the european commission's lead brexit negotiator, michel barnier, has been setting out his guidelines for the discussions on britain's departure. it comes amid reports that countries including france, germany and poland have stepped up their demands and the uk could face a brexit bill of 100 billion euros. a short time ago, mr barnier said this. what are we trying to protect, not just the right to live there, the writer to the labour market and

access to education, access to health care and recognition of diplomas and qualification. all those rights have to be protected and guaranteed on the basis of the law of the union guaranteed by the court ofjustice of the european union. the second subject of these immediate negotiations, this first phase of negotiations. it is the financial settlement. our objective is clear and was restated by the european council on saturday. the united kingdom will have to respect and a single financial settlement which will recover —— cover all of the financial arrangements between the financial arrangements between the united kingdom and the european union, all the commitments they have entered into as a member of the union. this is not a punishment or an exit tax of some kind. the union

and the united kingdom have mutual commitments. they have committed to financing programmes and projects together. we have decided that these programmes together, we benefit from them together, and we finance them together. that money is committed. i know precisely how it happens. it was an honour and privilege for me to beat the commissioner in charge a little while back. this money is committed to projects throughout europe. there are thousands of local authorities, stakeholders and businesses that are involved in these projects. and you should be able to imagine the political and legal problems that would arise well those problems to be cut or shortened. we basically have to close the account. it is now more and no less than that.

there is no punishment or brexit bell. it is only about settling the accords. our objective in the first phaseis accords. our objective in the first phase is to agree, to agree with the united kingdom on rigorous methodology to calculate those obligations. the third point is governance. the agreement with the united kingdom will have to have effective implementation and a dispute settlement mechanism. another the european union law is involved, for example on citizens of the financial settlement, we will have to depend on the court of justice of the european union.

otherwise, the rights to find by the agreement for citizens is just an illusion, a promise. the brexit secretary, david davis, said the uk would pay what was legally due, but notjust what the eu wants. they have offered 50 billion, 60 billion, 100 billion. we have not been given an official number. and whilst we'll meet our international obligations, we mean the legal ones, not the best guesses and wishes of the commission. but we could be paying 100 billion? no. that is not the case. we are coming to the end of paying vast sums of money every year to the european union. let us talk to kevin connelly who is following this and brussels. what is the take on it, kevin, where you are? michel barnier is being

factual, laying it out how he sees it in terms of britain's departure? michel barnier is a pretty smooth and sophisticated, very experienced brussels insider. he is far too wise and wary to add fuel to the flames ofa and wary to add fuel to the flames of a dispute that started this morning about that figure of 100 billion euros. there is no number yet, he says, it is now bell or punishment, justjoint yet, he says, it is now bell or punishment, just joint commitments. the problem is what meaning lies behind those words. it doesn't matter if you call the joint commitment rebuild, if it is a large amount of money for the uk to pay, one problem still is that everything will depend on the size of the amount that the eu has in mind and not how they choose to label it. that is what is going to count in british politics. the other problem is that if you listen to michel barnier, he is envisaging quite a bigger role in all of this for the

european court of justice. bigger role in all of this for the european court ofjustice. escaping the jurisdiction of important part of the brexit process. the european side says that when you talk about citizens rights for example, they can only be guaranteed through the european court ofjustice process. you can see there's plenty for both sides to disagree about. there are differences and that is why you negotiate. he had a nice line about the desire to create some sort of ente nte the desire to create some sort of entente cordiale, using a phrase from french diplomacy. barring a snooker words, behind that reassuring presentation, those questions about money, the role of the european court ofjustice remain. this is still the case that in terms of timescale, that is almost a stumbling block before lots of other issues can be discussed. the matter of the bill or whatever

we are going to call it plus this continuing debate about the right of eu citizens living in this country and brits in other countries, all that has to be settled before anything else can be moved onto. all of that has to be settled and new arrangements on the irish border. that'll be complicated. the european union has to pronounce itself satisfied that enough progress has been made on those issues before you start talking about trade deals. that means that the initiative is with the european side. when will they decide that enough progress has been made? what is enough progress? willa concrete figure have to be agreed in terms of money? will the european courtjurisdiction agreed in terms of money? will the european court jurisdiction have agreed in terms of money? will the european courtjurisdiction have to be accepted? they're all sorts of issues. of flexibility about when you might switch that free trade section of the talks. the decision

lies on the european side and they will play their cards close to the chest on issues like timing. very interesting. thank you. let us get the thoughts of the assistant political editor norman smith. it is fascinating. this process has barely begun. we are into this very public face of between michel barnier and theresa may. what theresa may as we know yesterday saying she could prove to be a bloody difficult women. and the eu coming back, look at this bill you are going to have to pay. michel barnier did not put a number on the bill but he is clear they will have to stump up the of money. at one point he said the bill would be incontestable. they will put it on the table and they will view it as our obligations that we have to beat before we do anything else. that is the crunching point. if nothing is possible before we

reach a deal on the money saved, that makes a possibility of detox bogging down and getting to the end of two years and not having a deal much more possible. that is what jean—claude juncker was alluding to after coming out of the downing street dinner with the belief in saying it could be 50% or more possible that there will not be a deal. we know that the figure will bea deal. we know that the figure will be a lot of money and that the eu wa nts be a lot of money and that the eu wants it settle before anything else. and we know that the british government will be under massive, massive pressure not to hand out large sums of money. it is a crunch point, early on in the negotiations. what did you make of david davis ‘s tone and approach to all of this? you could be making the point that the initiative as he sees it, and as they see it in brussels, it is brussels, not london. david davis and michel barnier are old enemies.

david davis used to be europe minister back in the day and has already crossed swords with michel barnier. they know each other well and there is mutual respect. i think mr davies will not be swayed by his demeanour. michel barnier is one tough cookie and he knows that. both sides have their own audiences to play for, there will be other eu countries looking to michel barnier to ta ke countries looking to michel barnier to take a tough public stand just as the electorate here are looking to the electorate here are looking to the british government to take a tough public stand. why that is potentially problematic —— problematic is because it limits the freedom to negotiate and compromise. if you publicly said you're going to bea if you publicly said you're going to be a very tough, bloody—minded women or whatever and you do not prove that in negotiations, people say, you said you would drive a hard bargain. it makes it harderfor

theresa may to compromise and cut deals after having struck such a position. it is also hard for michel barnier to back up having said he would get this money. the rhetoric on both sides makes the deal much more harder. plenty to talk about over the course of the day. you will be back with us later on. norman smith following all the developments today. i figured couples smith following all the developments today. ifigured couples having wedding photos taken behind us. we will not tell them that we are discussing divorce, shall we? we'll have more from westminster and parliament —— as parliament dissolves. regal officially into the general election campaign and will talk about that. thank you, jane, it was a surreal interlude that grabbed our attention. they looked like a happy couple. let me bring you breaking news. we are hearing from dorset police that two men and a woman have been arrested for the murder of guy hedger after a botched burglary in

brentwood in dorset. police are seeing that information from the public they have had, they have arrested three people in relation to the murder investigation. they made the murder investigation. they made the arrest in the bournemouth area. a ao—year—old man from bournemouth has been arrested on suspicion of murder and aggravated burglary. the 44—year—old man and a ao—year—old woman from bournemouth have been arrested on conspiracy to commit murder and conspiracy to commit aggravated burglary. all are currently being questioned by detectives currently. they say that properties in blandford and then bournemouth are being search for evidence. kevin connolly from dorset police would like to thank the public are coming forward with information and are grateful for all the support they have received. we

are working tirelessly on the best edition even though arrests have been made and a repeal still stands for anybody with information that could aid has come forward with any small detail, it could be important. they are interested in any suspicious activity after 3am on sunday the 30th of april. an apparent suicide bombing has targeted a convoy of armoured personnel carriers of the nato—led mission in the afghan capital kabul. the interior ministry says at least eight people were killed and more than twenty others were wounded. one of the military vehicles was severely damaged, along with several passing cars. sainsbury‘s says its profits have fallen by more than eight percent in the past year. its blaming a competitive market and unpredictability in the value of the pound, caused by brexit. chief executive, mike coupe, said the food market remained resilient in what he called a competitive market. smartphone users in the uk can only get a ag connection, on average, two thirds of the time according

to a study by the consumer group which. coverage of the latest generation of mobile technology is patchy across the country. ofcom has told mobile firms that 98—per cent of homes must get 4g reception by the end of this year. with me is our technology correspondent rory cellan—jones. it would come as a surprise that coverage is patchy, will it? as we use our phones more and more for everything this becomes a key issue. notjust for us as individuals but for lots of businesses that are really putting the pressure on to mmp really putting the pressure on to ramp up 4g collectivity. this data that which is using is coming from an unusual method, it is coming from an unusual method, it is coming from an app that lots of people use on the smartphones that tells the company behind it and they pass on to which if you are connected. it measures your uses through the day

and tells you if connected and produces this overall picture of two thirds of the time being connected across the uk. big variations. they produced a list of top 20 cities. middlesbrough comes top. and bournemouth comes bottom. middlesbrough comes top. and bournemouth comes bottomm middlesbrough comes top. and bournemouth comes bottom. it is interesting because you assume if you are in a city you will get good coverage but it is not the case. what are the issues? the issues are that the roll—out, the infrastructure needed, the new masts and filling in of all the gaps, it is taking some time. there is this deadline that of, has given to the mobile operators by the end of this europe reaching 98% indoor coverage. i europe reaching 98% indoor coverage. , has different figures from the which survey and says we are about 7273%. it is quite a way to go by the end of this year .mac it is

going to be touch and go. com has been talking about the sorry and seeing, it shows the need for more investment. —— off, has been talking about the survey. and then we will be moving on to which? it is ten years to the day that three—year—old madeleine mccann went the bbc has learned that portuguese detectives have not believed the british police fear that she was taken during a burglary gone wrong. now from leeds have been found and the investigation remains open. a former scotland yard commissioner

has said that continuing the search for madeline is the right thing to do. it is a huge amount of money and a little girl is missing and we do not know why. the panorama programme — madeleine mccann: ten years on — will be on bbc one at nine o'clock this evening. the eu's chief negotiator says that there will be no punishment brexit bill for britain but the uk must settle its account. no figure has been put on it. the shadow chancellor chooses the —— accuses the conservatives of telling lies after seeing that labour's plans would be a bombshell forfamilies. three people have been arrested in connection with the death of the businessman shot dead during a burglary in dorset. at midnight last night parliament was officially dissolved. later today theresa may

will travel to buckingham palace to see the queen. then on thursday voters across the country are heading to the polls for the local and mayoral elections. two and half weeks after that is the voter registration deadline for the general election. and then onjune the 8th that all important polling day. the labour leaderjeremy corbyn is campaigning in bedfordshire this there is mistrust and confusion around accident and emergency services. let us head to better china. —— bedford shire. iam

assuming that labour tried to talk about health today to put yesterday's problems of policing on the back burner. i think health is going to be a key campaign issue for labour and it is what they are talking about when jeremy corbyn came to bedford town centre a fewer hours ago. it is marketed today here so some of the stalls set up behind me. he met activists and that labour nhs campaigners to say his party would stop the nhs plans... we wa nted would stop the nhs plans... we wanted local health care leaders to make services more joined wanted local health care leaders to make services morejoined up. to ta ke make services morejoined up. to take more people in the community instead of impossible tool. some of those plans to meet bed closures and the downing of accident and emergency services. jeremy corbyn

said he thinks that these plans have led to lots of chaos and confusion. he insists they have been just not by the needs of patients but by financial pressures. the conservatives have underfunded the nhs and even the conservative dominated select committee in the house of commons agrees with that. the plans put forward by the government are threatening accident and emergency departments across the country. they will halt that process. and look again at all of them to ensure there is an a and the department image of everybody across the country. and that the threats to hospitals with the false competition set up with sisters and towns will end. the nhs was funded by labour and we are determined to defend it.

—— citizenship towns. and we are determined to defend it. -- citizenship towns. labour insist they have been drawn up by local health care leaders and that the nhs bosses support them too. they say they will improve patient care. the liberal democrats said the plans we re liberal democrats said the plans were a good idea. they insist this is not enough money to fund them. the nhs issues around health care is an issue that labour will return to again and again. when they come to bedford, it is something that people are happy to talk about because the nhs is something that people do care about when it comes to general elections. thank you very much. the conservatives are trying to shift the election debate onto the economy, claiming families would face a "tax and debt bombshell" if labour wins the election. the tories say there's a £16 billion gap between what labour is promising to spend and what it would raise in revenue. the conservative chancellor philip hammond began the election

battle with a warning about the consequences a labour government could have on the economy. as the document we are publishing this morning shows his economic policies are a recipe for chaos, instability, uncertainty and insecurity. britain simply cannot take the risk ofjeremy corbyn in downing street unleashing economic chaos on the country. just when we need strong and stable leadership for our economy and country over the next crucial five years as we negotiate our exit from the eu and chart a new course in the years beyond, jeremy corbyn offers a chaotic and high—risk gamble. labour's shadow chancellor, john mcdonnell, is dismissing the claim as "lies". he said labour's plans were fully costed. it is an absolute pack of

lies. i do not know why the bbc or media are giving it any rooms. an absolute pack of lies. they have included £35 billion worth of investment money, capital expenditure. they do not know the difference between capital and revenue. you include in the day—to—day spending from capital as interest rates. they have invented figures in terms of commitments they have given that we haven't and then when we have given commitments they haven't even identified where we haven't even identified where we have already said we are funding would come from. it is a pack of lies. tim farron is campaigning in oxford shire in the target seat of kidlington. responding to the news that eu countries are going to demand a brexit bill of 100 billion euros, the liberal democrat leader said that this government has chosen the most divisive and damaging form of brexit outside the single market.

that is a flavour of the campaigning so far today. we are also here today ina very so far today. we are also here today in a very windy westminster because it is all about the dissolution of parliament today and the official beginning of the general election campaign. let us discuss what lies ahead today and the importance and symbolism of it all. joining me is professor vernon bogdanor. professor of government at kings couege professor of government at kings college london. we still have these set pieces. why is today important? it is important because mps are no longer mps after today. they are simply candidates and they are not allowed to use the term member of parliament after their names and are not allowed into the house of commons. the government is on the ca re commons. the government is on the care and maintenance basis. the government cannot produce any new

policies that are politically controversial unless there is an emergency. and the civil service to retain its reputation of political neutrality and impartiality is in a type of paragraph. it treats the government on part with the opposition parties and to not influence them. , we're only state of purdah. how much political work can be done. if there is a crisis in the school sector, what happens in reality? that there's a crisis the government has to deal with it and it is accepted. they may try to win the consent of the main opposition parties for any new policies, particularly if that is some sort of foreign policy crisis. otherwise they would have to go it alone. that is unlikely and does not often happen. in terms of the election cycle, we a re happen. in terms of the election cycle, we are in a —— and an unusual

situation of council elections tomorrow. we would expect the general election to be on the same day and it is all change. it is a new environment. that is right, local elections this week, tomorrow, they are new elections because there are elections for six regional meals in the midlands and the north of england. those elections will give you a kind of opinion poll, a snapshot, which could be better than the opinion polls because it is real voters and that could give the pa rty‘s voters and that could give the party's some indications of fortunes. it is good too happy with us. we will see you plenty over the coming days. thank you much. lots to talk about and plenty to discuss today. there's more background information online. you can go to the special section of the bbc website. we have continuing analysis of all the campaigning up and down the country. we will talk more later

on today about the dissolution of parliament and the forthcoming general election. more from here in the next half an hour. we're going to catch up with the weather prospects. it does feel like november across parts of the south east. the weather is not treating us all fairly. some places are much more sunny. this is a sunny place in derbyshire. it will cloud over in derbyshire. you can see this cloud coming in from the south—east. that is what is making jane upset and westminster. look to the north and west, lots of sunshine. northern ireland and scotla nd sunshine. northern ireland and scotland seeing lots of sunshine and thatis scotland seeing lots of sunshine and that is where they will be the top temperatures, 20 degrees across parts of west scotland. through this

evening and into tonight, it is southern areas that will be cloudy. farther north, clear spells, some frost and places. we keep these divided fortunes. southerly areas will have lots of cloud. farther north and west, the best of the sunshine. this is bbc newsroom live. the headlines: the eu chief negotiator, michel barnier, says the eu must honour its commitments, but there'll be no punishment brexit bill for britain. there is no punishment, there is no brexit bill, the financial settlement is only about settling the accords. labour and the conservatives clash over spending policies. john mcdonnell accused the tories of telling "absolute lies"

after they claimed labour's economic plans would be a "bombshell" for families. three people have been arrested in connection with the death of businessman guy hedger, who was killed in the early hours of sunday morning. ten years since the disappearance of madeleine mccann, portuguese detectives say they don't believe the theory she was taken in a botched burglary. labour says it would halt plans to reform local health services around england, if it forms the next government. labour says it would suspend the planned closures of hospital services across england. the party says the national initiative, involving a4 local plans, has lost credibility and needs reviewing. here is labour's shadow health secretaryjon ashworth announcing the policy. i am announcing today that a labour government, that on its first day, will stop this hospital closure programme and have a full review. and the question that theresa may

has to answer and the question that the tory wannabe mp candidate robots here in yorkshire have to answer is, will they support altering this hospital closure programme? if they don't the message will go out, the nhs is safe in labour hands and not in tory hands at all. let's get some more analysis on this story. joining me now is our health editor, hugh pym. what are the plans? these are called sustainability and transformation plans and a4 areas of england. the intention was prompted by nhs‘ leadership for each area to get health chiefs and council leaders around the table to talk about health and social care in that area and how to treat the blow away from

hospitals because of the pressure on resources and demand rising rapidly and treating more people in the community is seen as better for the patient and a better use of resources . patient and a better use of resources. in some areas the plans suggest and proposed closures of some hospital units, downgrades to a&e facilities, ward closures, because they say money is being reinvested in the local community, but that has provoked protests in some areas, and whatjohn ashworth is saying is they would halt the process and look at whether each of these plans is actually sensible for patients. the conservatives say labour backed the idea of sustainability transformation plans and is now saying something different and they are supported by leading medics and senior doctors and so on. an interesting move in this ongoing political debate about health. are they suggesting

something that would be better or just pausing? they are saying to pause and getting a new regulator, nhs excellence, taking overfrom nhs improvement, which would put patient interests to the fore and this new regulator would look at each of the plans and say some of them can go forward and others maybe not. the liberal democrat response is the process is probably a good thing but what labour are proposing is not the answer, it is money, they have not been given the money to carry out the transformation and that is at the transformation and that is at the door of the government, the conservative government, who have not invested enough, say the liberal democrats. a key aspect of the nhs at the moment, where resource thing is targeted, in an election campaign is targeted, in an election campaign is it punchy enough to get through to voters' concerns on what is going

on in the nhs? labour are trying to translate this technocratic process of sustainability and transformation plans into something real to local people, the closure of the a&e unit in yorkshire where he was this morning, talking to an audience that included campaigners trying to save a local hospital, trying to save a local a&e unit. labour are seeing given these have been proposed that they are unpopular, let us hold the process , they are unpopular, let us hold the process, but the bigger picture is, how does the nhs cope in the years ahead with demand rising rapidly and resources ? ahead with demand rising rapidly and resources? across the board people say you have to do something to better coordinate care and if it means causing one small facility thatis means causing one small facility that is a good thing. that is the bigger picture. why right does the nhs in england goal in the years ahead? more now on the latest developments with brexit,

as the eu's chief negotiator michel barnier spoke this morning. the eu will have —— all the commitments that they have entered into as a member of the union. this is not a punishment or an except tax. the union and the united kingdom have mutual commitments. they have committed to financing programmes and projects together. we decided these programmes together. we benefit from them together and we finance them together. that money is committed. i know precisely how this happens because it was an honour and a privilege to be the commissioner in charge of the fund a while back.

this money is committed to projects throughout europe. there are thousands of local authorities, stakeholders, businesses, involved in these projects. you can imagine, you should be able to imagine the political and legal problems that would arise if those projects were to be cut or shortened. we have to close the account. it is no more and no less than that. there is no punishment. there is no brexit bill. the financial settlement is only about settling the account. joining me now via webcam is zsolt darvas, senior scholar at the european think—tank bruegel. he says it is a simple case of

closing the account, no more, no less, no punishment. a clear is it what the figures should be based on what the figures should be based on what sounds on the face of it like a simple process of closing the account? it is more or less clear in my view because the uk agreed to the seven year financial framework of the european union which runs from 2014-2020 and it is the european union which runs from 2014—2020 and it is possible to derive what is the share of the uk in all the commitments which were made in this framework. on the other hand there are aspects to consider, for example what should happen to the so—called uk rebate from which the so—called uk rebate from which the uk benefited from the name teenage tease? how to calculate the uk's share. and ultimately whether the uk would benefit from the various assets that the european union has. are you confident of

putting any sort of figure on it? the ballpark seems to be somewhere between 60 billion euros and 100 billion euros. 100 billion euros is a bit misleading because that could be an upfront payment by the uk and that would be followed by a0 billion euros of 50 billion euros reimbursement to the uk. for example there are projects which are planned to be implemented spent in the uk like building bridges or highways. also a large share of the 100 billion relates to the borrowing of the european union, the financial assistance programme for ireland and portugal, and as ireland and portugal, and as ireland and portugal will repay, the uk will benefit from those repayments. effectively if you're talking about the reimbursement being potentially

up the reimbursement being potentially up to 50 billion that slashes the 100 billion by half and you're talking about other factors, what sort of figure would you put on the ultimate bill? the long-running bill could range between 25 and 65 billion euros which is also quite a wide range but there are also choices, for example whether the uk bid benefit from the rebate and how to cope with the uk's share, how to end up with this 25— 65 billion euros range. what do you think about the dialogue going on around this? any negotiation will always see both sides trying to drive the hardest bargain. is the language that we are hearing and the entrenchment of positions helpful? what we see is that the 27 eu member states are

rather united and give the commission a very strong mandate to negotiate and after the largest possible payment from the uk. this isa possible payment from the uk. this is a starting point. uk politicians have different views. i think these negotiations should be conducted behind closed doors, not in front of the public, but apparently it became a very heavily covered issue by the media. thank you. let's go back now to jane hill, who's at westminster this morning. today the official general election campaign gets under way. i know you thought it was under way already. we are looking forward tojune eight, the day of the election. joining me is susie boniface.

and james forsyth that the political editor of the spectator. why did theresa may call this election, is it all about brexit? brexit is one of the reasons, it makes the timetable easierfor of the reasons, it makes the timetable easier for her. she will have five years, until 2022, which means she has some time for an implementation period for brexit, for example the jurisdiction of the european court of justice for example the jurisdiction of the european court ofjustice might continue to prevent a dramatic change of land that can be done and dusted by the time of the next general election. she is very confident she will increase her majority. look at the safe labour seat she has been visiting. with the bigger majority in the commons it will be easierfor bigger majority in the commons it will be easier for her to get this brexit legislation through. will be easier for her to get this brexit legislation throughm labour going to be trounced? did theresa may choose to do this because of opinion polls? why would

she not have the general election? everything was in her favour. she not have the general election? everything was in herfavour. lots of political problems would go away. during the brexit negotiations which will be happening over the next two yea rs will be happening over the next two years there is going to be lots of lea ks and years there is going to be lots of leaks and spin from both sides and criticism and complaints and you kept saying this is not what we wanted. she has said that is not going to affect me until 2020. remember the she had last month in this place about the finance bill and the national insulin she wanted to raise, with lots of people saying she did not have a mandate. people we re she did not have a mandate. people were saying you cannot do that is. this was not on the referendum ballot paper on the manifesto. she has put a lot of problems the bed and she has delayed brexit by

another eight weeks. nothing has happened. i was talking to another correspondent who was saying this election is boring. is that a strategy as far as theresa may is concerned? keep strategy as far as theresa may is concerned ? keep it strategy as far as theresa may is concerned? keep it steady. yes, strong and stable, she wants to use that phrase every day and make this all about her orjeremy corbyn. the european commission have done theresa may a massive favour by leaking details about the dinner. who do you want them, theresa may or jeremy corbyn? liberating herself from david cameron george osborne's ma nifesto from david cameron george osborne's manifesto was one of the main attractions for theresa may of going for this election. she can get through things like the return of grammar schools, she was not going to be able to get that through in the previous parliament. she is

going to have permission for these policies. her personal laboratory will be strengthened because this is going to be her victory. when she campaigns she is not campaigning with the conservative banner that just says strong and stable. labour say of this is going to be about personalities then you have jeremy corbyn, a man of principles who does not do as many u—turns, although he has had his share. trying to talk about policies. theresa may is trying to push things into being more of a presidential style election. when we vote for mps we do not pick the person who is prime minister, we picked our local mp, who fights for local schools and hospitals and education reforms. your local mp is going to do more work for you and others in the next five years. theresa may is the de

fa cto five years. theresa may is the de facto head of the conservative party and will be prime minister that it should be a way of thinking about how your vote is going to affect you. this is going to be a hard sell. tom watson was saying, vote for who you think would be the best local mp. it is a national contest. we watch the national nose. you think about which of the —— theresa may orjeremy corbyn you want to lead. you think, who do i want to be in charge? you could say you have one vote for prime minister and one for local mp and then you might get more balance. you would not have a massive majority like theresa may could have to push everything through. plenty to discuss in the next few weeks. much more from here

at westminster throughout the day. in a moment a summary of the business news this hour but first the headlines on bbc newsroom live: the eu chief negotiator says there'll be no punishment brexit bill for britain but the uk must settle its accounts. the shadow chancellor accuses the conservatives of telling lies after the chancellor claimed labour would unleash "economic chaos" on the country. three people are arrested in connection with the death of a businessman who was shot dead during a burglary in dorset. two men and a woman from bournemouth. in the business news: supermarket giant sainsbury‘s has announced an 8.2% fall in profits for the year as it warned of a challenging trading market. full—year profits before tax have fallen to £503 million. these are the first results

to include argos and habitat, which were bought by sainsbury‘s last year. more on this injust a moment. growth in the uk's construction industry hit a four—month high in april, adding to tentative signs that the economy might be recovering a little momentum after a lacklustre start to the year. the pmi for the sector rose to 53.1 from 52.2 in march, better than forecasts for a slight fall. apple is the world's most valuable company and it made another huge profit in the first three months of the year, £a1 billion. but the firm sold fewer iphones than a year ago, down 1%. however, the california based firm sold just under $53 billion worth of products, as it continues to dominate the smartphone market. sainsbury‘s full—year profits have fallen to £503 million, down 8.2% from £5a8 million. the supermarket has been hit by price cuts and tough competition on the high street.

these are the first results to include argos and habitat, which were bought for £1.a billion last year. there were concerns that may have taken its there were concerns that may have ta ken its eye there were concerns that may have taken its eye off the ball as far as the supermarket was concerned. once their sales are added in, overall group sales increased 12.7%. the firm also warns that underlying profits in the next six months will be lower than in the last six months. the chief executive explained why sales are up and profits are down. sales are up because we acquired argos in the second half of the year and that has added to our sales line but profits are down because we have seen pressures in prices but we have also given our colleagues a a% pay rise, so we have invested and we have given a good peer review. the market continues to be competitive. it is important that we invest in

pricing and grow our business where we think there are market opportunities and we do that with merchandise. that is an area of growth for the future. i'm joined by catherine shuttleworth, retail analyst at savvy marketing. a lot of people said they had bought argos and habitat and might take their eye off the ball as far as the supermarket is concerned. have they? ido supermarket is concerned. have they? i do not think so. i think it is a really solid performance. numbered one troy and electrical retailer and numbered two food retailer. the supermarket businesses under huge pressure. they have done pretty well to bring that result through and combine the two businesses. they are ahead on synergies, which means when

theyjoin ahead on synergies, which means when they join businesses ahead on synergies, which means when theyjoin businesses together they will see savings. they have a strong management team and are adapting to the changing needs of shoppers. we are ata the changing needs of shoppers. we are at a turning point as far as prices are concerned because we are so used to all of the supermarkets trying to get us through the doors, cutting prices. they are at the point where they are saying prices may start going back up. we are seeing increases in prices. as shoppers we can just about afford that but we are going to start shopping round more which is affecting sainsbury‘s and other grocers. that is going to be the story the rest of the year because prices are going to increase and shoppers are going to shop around and that will make it continually tough. sainsbury‘s are trying to make lots of different reasons to shop at sainsbury‘s, with x date argos stores in sainsbury‘s. suggestions of tying up with that

silly valley to offer cafes. sainsbury‘s are gearing up to be a multifaceted retailer. is this not exactly what tesco did? they have pulled back from that. they said they would put in new things in their stores, new coffee shops, and then a couple of years later they said that was not working and they we re said that was not working and they were going to go back to sue blizzard to. is there a danger sainsbury‘s makes the same mistake? they are using it as a way to get into more online selling and argos was a really successful online business. there is a lot more similarity in the businesses than some of the ones that tesco bought and a more excitable phase. this is more thought through and strategically has a better fit. they have to keep their eye on the

business and adapt a customer change and that is a big challenge but they have a management team that is capable of doing that. thank you. marks and spencer has hired the chief executive of cycling retailer halfords, jill mcdonald, to take charge of clothing, home and beauty. itv‘s chief executive, adam crozier, who is credited with helping to turn around the broadcaster's fortunes, is to step down after seven years. mr crozier built up itv‘s production arm, reducing its reliance on shrinking advertising revenue. the world's biggest carmaker volkswagen has seen a massive jump in profits for the first three months of this year. the company made £3.63bn which is a0% more than a year ago as it sold 2.5m cars. sainsbury‘s, a lot of competition in the market. investors not liking that. let's return to our main story.

jane hill is at westminster for us. theresa may will be going to buckingham palace later to mark the dissolution of parliament, formerly the beginning of the general election campaign. we will talk about the role of her majesty. joining me is the royal historian hugo vickers. we have to fix them parliament act, so actually was the prime minister not have to anymore inform the queen, ask the queen, about this? she certainly has to inform the queen but the queen is not involved in the dissolution of parliament as she might have been in the past. it isa she might have been in the past. it is a courtesy visit but a very important one because not so long ago theresa may went to see the queen to be asked to form a government and at this point she remains the prime minister but she

goes to inform the queen about the general election, she knows there is going to be a general election, so they might have a talk, like head girl going to the headmistress. when we think about any prime minister of the day having that audience, that meeting with the queen, we would all be fascinated to know what really goes on, what the relationship is like between the two. which prime minister is the queen does and does not like, but we will only know so much. we only hear from the prime ministers who tell us occasionally. we never hear it from the queen. the queen gives friendliness not necessarily friendship. she is very supportive of whoever is the elected person and that is very important. it is important the prime minister can speak freely to the queen. if the queen asked formal advice from

the queen asked formal advice from the prime minister she is constitutionally obliged to take it but if she advises the prime minister about something they are not obliged to take it although they would do well to listen. very interesting. i am sorry we cannot speak longer. much more coming up from here at westminster. we are going to catch up with the weather. it is wet and blustery in westminster. you're getting the raw end of the deal. many other places seeing sunshine. that was the glorious scene across the scottish highlands this morning, blue skies and sunshine. further south and east, a lot of cloud and outbreaks of rain. a big lump of cloud working into southern and eastern areas. parts of wales and the south—west where it started sunny, the sunshine will be taken away as the cloud

rolls westwards. much of northern england, northern ireland and scotland, holding onto sunny skies. not very fair as far as the weather is concerned, some places cloudy, some places sunny. some places will be warm and some will feel chilly. temperatures pegged back, particularly cold where it stays cloudy for east anglia and the south—east. even inland temperatures will struggle. compare that with the temperatures further north than west where you get the sunshine. 20 degrees possible across north—west scotland. tonight, the cloud continues to affect southern areas, rain at times, further north clear spells. where we keep the clear spells. where we keep the clear spells temperatures will drop away. particularly in the countryside it could get below freezing. fairly chilly for northern ireland and wales. not as chilly in the south.

more cloud. that stays in southern areas tomorrow. perhaps the shower in the south—west in the afternoon. further north, more sunshine again. temperatures not just as further north, more sunshine again. temperatures notjust as high as today but still feeling pretty reasonable in the sunshine. more of the same for a friday, cloud in the south, brightness further north. the wind strengthening across the south—west. this area of low pressure is going to try to wobble in from the south. it is not going to make a lot of progress, just bringing rain in southern areas on saturday. high pressure holds firm. the best of the sunshine towards the north—west, western scotland very pleasa nt north—west, western scotland very pleasant indeed. further south, north—west, western scotland very pleasant indeed. furthersouth, more cloud, more of rain across the south and the south—west on saturday. if you want more details on the weekend, log onto the website. is an

this is bbc news. i'm jane hill live in westminster — as parliament is dissolved to allow campaigning for the general election. the eu chief negotiator denies claims its drawing up a big divorce bill to punish britain for brexit, but says the uk must honour its commitments. there is no punishment, there is no brexit bill, the financial settlement is only about settling the accounts. whilst we'll meet our international obligations, we'll meet the legal ones not the best guesses and wishes of the commission. the conservatives claim there will be "economic chaos" if labour wins the election, but labour accuse the tories of telling "absolute lies". the other news at midday. three people are arrested in connection with the death of a businessman who was shot dead during a burglary in dorset. smartphone users only get access to the ag signal about two thirds of the time — and coverage varies wildly

across the country, according to a new survey. and concern for the uk's killer whales after scientists find shocking levels of a toxic chemical in a member of the last resident pod. good morning, i'mjane hill reporting live from westminster on the day the general election campaign officially gets underway. at midnight parliament was officially dissolved, meaning that from today every seat in the house commons is upforgrabs. let's bring you up to date with some of the key stories this morning. the eu's chief negotiator on brexit, michel barnier, says britain must honour its obligations as it leaves the eu — and warns departure will not be quick or painless.

later today the prime minister theresa may will visit the queen at buckingham palace to mark the dissolution of parliament. and labour and conservatives have clashed on their tax plans. the european union's chief negotiator on how britain leaves the bloc has been setting out his priorities for the first phase of talks. michel barnier said they consisted of agreeing a method for calculating britain's financial obligations, guaranteeing the rights of eu citizens living in the uk and the issue of external borders. on the financial settlement, he stressed it wouldn't be a brexit bill to punish britain, just a settling of accounts. translation: the united kingdom will have to respect a single financial settlement that will convert all the financial will cover all the financial relations between the united kingdom and the european union, all the commitments they have entered into as a member of the union.

this is not a punishment nor is it an extra tax of some kind. the european union and the united kingdom have mutual commitments. we have committed to financing programmes and projects together. we decided these programmes together. we benefit from them together. and we finance them together. that money is committed. and i know precisely how it happened because it was an honour and privilege for me to be the commissioner of the structural funds. this money is committed to projects throughout europe. there are thousands of local authorities, stakeholders and businesses which are involved in these projects. and you should be able to imagine the political and legal problems that would arise were those programmes to be cut or shortened.

we basically have to close the account and it is no more or no less than that. there is no punishment, there is no brexit bill. the financial settlement is only about settling the accounts. they have offered 50 billion, 60 billion, 100 billion. we have not been given an official number. and whilst we'll meet our international obligations, we mean the legal ones, not the best guesses and wishes of the commission. but we could be paying 100 billion? no. that is not the case. we are coming to the end of paying vast sums of money every year to the european union. the labour leaderjeremy corbyn has said the 100 billion euro figure was probably the eu's "opening gambit" in the negotiations.

this is probably a gambit in the negotiations and we should approach it in negotiations and we should approach itina negotiations and we should approach it in a more sensible and serious way. we aim to reach an agreement with europe on tariff free trade access to the european market. we need to reach an agreement, which we will do, in the british parliament, to protect workers rights and environmental consumers rights that we re environmental consumers rights that were achieved through european legislation and protecting the status of eu nationals living in britain. that will be sensible rather than theresa may and david davis who opened with megaphone diplomacy threatening europe that we will become some tax haven on the shores of europe. kevin connolly has followed these in brussels. michel barnier is a pretty smooth and sophisticated, very experienced brussels insider. he is far too wise and wary to add fuel to the flames of a dispute that started this morning about that

figure of 100 billion euros. there is no number yet, he says, it is no bill or punishment, justjoint commitments. the problem is what meaning lies behind those words. or a bill, if it is a large amount of money for the uk to pay, one problem still is that everything will depend on the size of the amount that the eu has in mind and not how they choose to label it. that is what is going to count in british politics. the other problem is that if you listen to michel barnier, he is envisaging quite a big role in all of this for the european court of justice. escaping the jurisdiction was an important part of the brexit process. the european side says that when you talk about citizens rights for example, they can only be guaranteed through the european court ofjustice process. you can see there's plenty for both

sides to disagree about. he says, tthere are differences and that is why you negotiate. he had a nice line about the desire to create some sort of entente cordiale, using a phrase from french diplomacy, between the eu states and the uk. behind smooth words words, behind that reassuring presentation, those questions about money, the role of the european court ofjustice remain. he did not have the level of detail today. is it still the case that in terms of timescale, that is almost a stumbling block before lots of other issues can be discussed. the matter of the bill or whatever we are going to call it plus this continuing debate about the right of eu citizens living in this country and brits in other european countries, all that has to be settled before anything else can be moved onto. all of that has to be settled and new arrangements on the irish border. that'll be complicated.

doesn't have to be settled. the european union has to pronounce itself "satisfied" that enough progress has been made on those issues before you start talking about trade deals. that means that the initiative is with the european side. when will they decide that enough progress has been made? what is enough progress? willa concrete figure have to be agreed in terms of money? will the european court jurisdiction have to be accepted? they're all sorts of issues. lots of flexibility about when you might switch that free trade section of the talks. if the decision lies on the european side and they will play close to their chest on issues like timing. you see what is happening on the

campaign trail with the liberal democrats today. tim farron has been out in oxford shire in the target seat of kidlington. responding to the, bill of up to 100bn euros — the liberal democrat leader said that "this government has chosen the most divisive and damaging form of brexit, outside the single market. one voter in kidlington gave tim farron a piece of his mind about his previous comment about people who voted to leave. don't tell people who voted lee that they did not know what they were voting for. come on, tim. you said it was not on the ballot paper. it was in the booklet

sent through from the government. i wa nt sent through from the government. i want this and i don't want that. come on, timber and want this and i don't want that. come on, timberand not want this and i don't want that. come on, timber and not on the way we said it at tim henman. that was a flavour of the campaign trail. norman smith is with me. this is all fascinating. we have two mac years of this if not longer. it is like two sides are locked against each other already. this is going to dominate politics and political life for at least two mag years. all the signs are that it will be combustible and bruising. listening to michel barnier this morning. the government reaction has to be to play this town and see it there is no surprise, this is michel barnier, it is his style. they have dismissed

his warnings about it being difficult and being an incontestable bill and there will be consequences, sing this is the rough—and—tumble of early negotiations and manoeuvring. david davis has been cleared on the cash fund. he said we're not paying 100 billion euros, forget it, not happening. on the smaller sums around 50—60 billion. he said that the figures are plucked from funnier and do not recognise and, pretty sceptical about that. and he said that if they do not get a deal then we do not know you anything. we are pushing back. the difficulty is that when it comes to negotiation and then there will have to be compromise. when both sides ramp up the rhetoric, it makes it harder to cut a deal because everyone has to look over the shoulder to think about what their own people are doing. michel barnier has determined to the 27 eu countries and seats, i did not get the 100 billion i was

after. what david davis will have to see to the british electorate that they said theresa may is a typical woman, she has given away billions of pounds. the tough rhetoric makes it harder to do a deal. plenty for us it harder to do a deal. plenty for us to talk about. it is good we are still laughing at the moment. later on we will talk about the political developments today. this is the formal start of the general election campaign. the election is onjune eight. police investigating the murder of a man during an apparent burglary at his home in dorset have arrested three people. guy hedger was killed in the early hours of sunday morning after intruders broke into his home in the village of st ives. live now to our correspondent, duncan kennedy, in st ives near ringwood in dorset. what are the police saying about the arrests ? what are the police saying about the arrests? just to let you know that

this investigation is ongoing. we have been allowed nearer the house. the last couple of days the board has been blocked off by the police have opened up the cordon and the investigation has centred on the house by me. mr hedger was shot and killed on the early hours of sunday morning. he was shot here at his home and then taken to hospital with the diet of his wounds. a postmortem investigation found that he was killed by a gunshot wound. in the last hour or so dorset police have issued a statement after making three arrest in bournemouth yesterday. they put out the statement today. the statement says that a a1—year—old bournemouth man has been arrested on suspicion of murder and aggravated burglary. a aa gerald paul mcmanus and a a0—year—old bournemouth will then have been arrested on suspicion to commit murder and aggravated burglary. we were told that all three are being interviewed by

detectives. the same dorset police statement goes on to see that this investigation is continuing and the police are grateful to the public who have came forward with information so far. specifically they are asking for other eyewitnesses who may have seen anything here on sunday morning, still to come forward and give that information to police as quickly as they can. smartphone users in the uk can only get a ag connection, on average, two thirds of the time according to a study by the consumer group which. coverage of the latest generation of mobile technology is patchy across the country. ofcom has told mobile firms that 98—per cent of homes must get ag reception by the end of this year. earlier our technology correspondent rory cellan—jones, explained to me just how varied ag coverage is across the country. this data that which is using, it is coming from an app that people use

on the smartphones that tells the company behind it, and may pass it onto which, whether you are connected. it means is your activity throughout the day. it says if you are not connected. it produces an overall picture of two back thirds of the time being connected across the uk. big variations. they produced a list of top 20 cities. middlesbrough comes top and foremost comes bottom with the amount of time connected. it is interesting because you assume when you are in a city you assume when you are in a city you assume when you are in a city you assume you'll get good coverage but it is not the case, what are the issues? the issue is the roll-out, the infrastructure needed, the new masts and filling in of all the gaps, it is taking some time. they does this deadline that off, has given to the mobile operators by the end of year, reaching 98% indoor coverage. ofcom has different

figures from that, at 72—73% coverage. still a long way to go. it will be touch and go whether those targets will be hit. and ofcom has been talking about this survey and says, it shows the need for more investment and we are going to make more airwaves available and these companies have to start looking at ways to reaching every part of the country. and then we move onto 5g some stage? it begs the question should be be worrying about 5g so much when —— about ag so much when sg much when —— about ag so much when 5g is on the way. the headlines on bbc newsroom live. the eu chief negotiator says there'll be no punishment brexit bill for britain — but the uk must settle its accounts. the conservatives claim that labour

will unleash economic chaos won the election. labour say that the chancellor is telling absolute lies. two men and a woman from bournemouth are arrested in connection with the death of a businessman who was shot dead during a burglary in dorset. let us look at the sport. javelin thrower goldie sayers has announced her retirement from the sport and said she leaves athletics of a deep sense of injustice. she is 3a and are still waiting to see if she will be awarded the bronze medal for the 2008 beijing olympics is the third placed russian athlete who had it was taken away for doping and is appealing. she is desperate to draw appealing. she is desperate to draw a line under her career and is unimpressed by the length of time the appeal is taking. the former long jumper mike powell says plans to read eight world records set before 2005 are disrespectful and an injustice, and a slap in the face. he stands to

lose his own world record set in 1991 if the proposal is implemented as the iaaf attempt to make a clean breakfrom as the iaaf attempt to make a clean break from the doping scandals. the american said he would legally challenge any ruling and has already spoken to his lawyer. colinjackson agrees that it is the wrong way to go. what we try to do is convince the general public that athletics is clea n. the general public that athletics is clean. the best way we can convince them is to have a stringent doping testing procedure that everybody is confident with. to have to put us all in the same category as everybody else who has been banned from taking drugs and removing medals, titles and records is harsh for people who are clean like myself. garth crooks, an independent trustee of the anti—discrimination organisation, kick it out, has called for black players to boycott

matches after muntari was suspended. he protested against abuse at the match and was booked for dissent after asking the referee to stop the game and walked often process. the charity described the authorities as couples. cristiano ronaldo became the first player to move past 50 goals in the champions stage —— champions league knockout stage alone after they defeated atletico madrid 3—0. you score the winning penalty in the final last year between the side and he was once again the staffer real madrid. his hat—trick means there are still on course for the third champions league title in four yea rs. champions league title in four years. that is all the sport. welcome back to westminster. we're

here to talk about the dissolution of parliament and the fact we are now officially building up to the general election on the 8th ofjune. the conservatives are trying to shift the election debate onto the economy, claiming families will face a tax on dead bombshell if labour wins the election. the tories say there is a £a5 million gap between what labour is promising to spend and what it could raise in revenue. philip hammond warned this morning of the impact of a labour government, the impact it could have on the economy. as the document we are publishing this morning shows, his economic policies are a record of chaos, instability and uncertainty. britain simply cannot take the risk of jeremy corbyn in downing street, unleashing economic chaos of the country. just when we need strong

and stable leadership for our economy and our country over the crucial next five years as we negotiate our exit from the eu and chart a new course in the years beyond, jeremy corbyn offers a chaotic and high—risk gamble. we have also heard from john mcdonnell and he dismissed those claims as lies. he said that labour's plans are fully costed. it is a pack of lies. i do not know why the bbc or the media are giving it any room whatsoever. it is a pack of lies. they have included £35 billion worth of investment money, capital expenditure. they do not know the difference between capital and revenue. all you include us in your day—to—day spending with capital expenditure is the interest rates. it is ludicrous and they have invented figures in terms of commitments that we have given which we haven't and then when we have

given commitments, they have not identified without that funding will come from. it is a pack of lies. joining me isjohn curtice, professor of politics at strathclyde university. interesting that we were listening tojohn mcdonnell interesting that we were listening to john mcdonnell and philip interesting that we were listening tojohn mcdonnell and philip hammond because it is that american political phrase that it is all about the economy, stupid. lots of elections are just about the economy. what do we know about what the british public think this is about? it is interesting. it has taken about? it is interesting. it has ta ke n two about? it is interesting. it has taken two weeks before the economy has came to the forefront of the election campaign. the reason why the she wanted to call this campaign was not the economy of the deficit, but rather of course she says she wa nts to but rather of course she says she wants to try to strengthen our hand

with the negotiations with the european union. i —— the opinion polls suggest that brexit is important, the health service is also important. the economy for water is not such a pressing concern as in the past. the argument today with the tories are doing that we bought would spend too much labour arguing the contrary, it echoes what voters have heard in previous elections. this is pretty familiar territory for both parties when it comes to the issue of the economy. and it is quite interesting when people say, this election is all about brexit, the referendum is done, the result is out there, it cannot be changed. it is decided as an issue. actually, remain an leave voters will vote differently in this election if the opinion polls are to

be believed. on the leaside, there has been a significant movement in the last two weeks. the opinion polls suggest that somewhere between three fifths and two thirds of those who voted leave will vote conservative. and a significant body of people who as recently as last easter weekend said they would still vote ukip have now switched to the conservatives. that is why initially the conservative leader in the opinion polls seemed to go up. conversely on the remain side, voters are divided between those who will vote conservative, labour and the lib dems. that thought is much more divided. on the leaside, those who want those to leave the european union, they do seem to be buying into the vision of theresa may. and people who used to be part of ukip think that voting conservative is the best bet on this occasion. thank

you. the two candidates to become the president of france face each other in a debate on french television this evening. the centrist emmanuel macron is widely seen to be leading against the far—right candidate, marine le pen. our correspondent, thomas fessy, is covering developments in troyes. we are in the north—eastern town of troyes. it is a conservative stronghold just outside the city hall which will be one of the main polling stations on sunday. it is an exception in the region we are marine le pen, the far right candidate, came ahead in the first round with the regional 30.3% score. we can talk to the regional campaign

managerfor the we can talk to the regional campaign manager for the republican candidate francois fillon. he has asked his supporters to vote for emmanuel macron to block the far right candidate, marion the pen, from taking power. we have decided not to vote, can you explain why?|j taking power. we have decided not to vote, can you explain why? i will never vote for emmanuel macron or marine le pen, i can not find the social values of emmanuel macron and the economical programme and nationalist marine le pen. when people say they will not vote for either candidate, is that the way of playing in the favour of the far right candidate, marine le pen?|j think it is in the favour of nobody because i elect nobody. if you look at the equation, when the abstention

goes up, her votes go up. the solution to make the nationalist‘s vote to go down is somewhere else. young people voted massively for marine le pen. they need to give back the desire of life and trust in themselves to the young people. back the desire of life and trust in themselves to the young peoplem 2002, her father was the themselves to the young peoplem 2002, herfather was the run—off with jacques chirac. entire left united behind jacques chirac to say no to the front nationale. why is it not happening this year? marine le pen seems to be stronger than her father. she will be able to have

nationality in parliament. thank you for joining nationality in parliament. thank you forjoining us today. tonight, it is a key moment in the campaign, the televised debate that a lot of french people are waiting to see before they make up their mind on sunday. thank you very much. this cloud is working into the midlands and will spread westwards into wales and the south—west as well. this cloud is producing some rain and will feel cold under this area of clyde. farther north and west, there is plenty of sunshine but windy across the top of the

pennines. this evening and night, the southern half of the country will stay cloudy with spots of rain. it will feel quite cold but not enough for frost. the skies will be clearer father lost —— further north and we could get some frost. into friday, the south keeps the cloud and the best weather will be further north. this is bbc newsroom live. the headlines: the eu chief negotiator, michel barnier, says the eu must honour its commitments, but there'll be no punitive brexit bill for britain. there is no punishment, there is no brexit bill, the financial settlement is only about settling the records. labour and the conservatives clash over spending policies. john mcdonnell accused the tories

of telling "absolute lies" after they claimed labour's economic plans would be a "bombshell" for families. three people have been arrested in connection with the death of businessman guy hedger, who was killed in the early hours of sunday morning. smartphone users only get access to the ag signal about two thirds of the time, according to a new survey. it is ten years to the day since three—year—old madeleine mccann went missing from a holiday apartment in the portuguese village of praia da luz. it's a case that drew attention around the world and cast a shadow on the algarve resort. jon kay reports. ten years. ten years since everything changed here. a little girl vanished on a holiday with her parents.

it's unbelievable that nothing, there has been nothing. you know nobody has found anything. they haven't found the child, they haven't found anything. jenny murat remembers it like it was yesterday. she only lives a few yards from the block where madeleine disappeared. back then she set up a stall outside, appealing for information. she never imagined that the case would still be unsolved a decade on. this comes into my mind every day. every single day. everything you look at and you see all around you is... it connects somehow to the fact that a poor little girl disappeared. there are still so many theories. this week it has been claimed that on the night madeleine disappeared a mystery woman was seen outside the family's apartment. jenny told me she saw this woman, who is now reported to be a significant part of the investigation. i noticed her and she kind of looked

as if she was trying to hide. i do remember that she was wearing a plum coloured top. for the first time, jenny has also told us about a car she saw that night speeding towards the mccann's apartment, heading the wrong way down a one—way street. it was one of the small cars, like a rental car, the normal everyday sort of rental car. were you able to see the driver? i saw the driver. i was beside the driver. we just looked at each other and i think he had a very british look about him. please give our little girl back. she repeats her plea in portuguese. ten years of unprecedented publicity. appeals, but no answers. it has had a huge impact on my personality... jenny's son robert was to be named a suspect in the case.

a decade on, his name may have been cleared, but he still cannot bear to look online. the internet is full of theories. i'd like to know the truth. i'd like to know the truth, not theories. i just want to know why that was the case. it didn't only lead to me being destroyed, it led to my whole family being destroyed and affected by those allegations. it was completely untrue. and you are adamant that you were not there that night? 100%. ten years ago this was just another sleepy village. now it is the place where madeleine disappeared. panorama will be on bbc one at 9pm this evening. "young black men don't grow up thinking they'll make it here. they should." that was the intended message behind

this photo of 1a black male students from cambridge university. they got together to pose because in 2015 of the 3,a00 new undergraduates accepted into the university only 15 were black men. 23 black women were accepted that year. earlier my colleague victoria derbyshire spoke to studentsjimi babasola and peter adefioye, who are featured in the picture, along with ore ogunbiyi, who took the photos, about why it was so important to them. we pulled together a few guys that we knew and i got the camera out, and i said, let's make this happen. tell us more. more about myself, i did primary school and secondary school in nigeria and then i came to the uk for a—levels and subsequently university. the message that you want to send from this photo? the message i want to send is to encourage young black men to believe that they can come here because i think there is this image that they might have

about what the average or typical cambridge student is like, and they feel like they really won't fit in here. so we want to get the message out to them that they will, like there is a place for them here. what do you think the stereotypical image of a cambridge undergraduate is? that is a very good question. often not people who look like us. i think the archetypal image of a cambridge student is typically someone who is maybe caucasian and certainly doesn't come from backgrounds like us. so it is important that we challenge stereotypes because perception is quite key nowadays. what is your background? if you don't mind me asking. i grew up in east london, to be specific my parents were from nigeria. that is about it, really. what has your experience been like at cambridge? my experience has been quite interesting. in terms of this issue specifically i feel that there are a lot of different things being done,

so we have the likes of the acs, we have the fly network, the race equality charter. these are trying to balance out the under representations of people like myself. my my experience has been interesting so far. in terms of getting the message out, this photo has been shared i do not know how many times, so it is working. yes. yes, it is. it is really important to try to get it to everyone, so everyone who has the potential to get here should not think they do not have the opportunity because they do. you have to put some work in. yes, definitely. you must be delighted with how this has been shared around the world. yes, definitely, it is unprecedented, i do not think we

thought we would get this kind of response. it has been crazy. the university can do all these amazing things but if we are not encouraging people out there we are not going to change these numbers, and the message is to empower. we can inspire young black men that cambridge is within their reach and this is something they can do, and we are proud to be part of this. ajudge in san francisco will decide later today if the taxi—hailing app uber must halt the developments of parts of its new self—driving car. the company has been accused of stealing technology designed by google. dave lee reports. pulling over. uber is, of course, no stranger to a courtroom. but its latest opponents are perhaps its most formidable so far. waymo is a self—driving car firm owned by alphabet, the parent company of google. waymo has accused two former employees of stealing self driving technology by downloading 1a,000 files related to the design

of the system that helps the cars see what is around them. the two accused employees created otto, a self—driving truck that was company bought by uber last yearfor $680 million. now waymo wants a judge in san francisco to put in place an injunction on uber using the disputed technology. it could men uber‘s new self—driving cars being trialled in cities around the us could be taken off the roads. at the very least, it could be a major setback for uber as it tries to be the first company making commercial self—driving cars an everyday reality. however, uber denies using any of google's technology, saying the company are just trying to stifle independent innovation. dave lee, bbc news, san francisco. this is the formal start of the

general election campaign, so all of the seats in the commons are up for grabs. we have been talking about brexit, reflecting the comments from michel barnier, talking about the builder uk will have to pay, he says, before britain can leave the eu. iam says, before britain can leave the eu. i am going to be talking to someone from the liberal democrats but first we can hear from john nicholson from the snp, the party spokesman on culture, media and sport. your take on michel barnier‘s comments. he is adamant this is not a punishment bill in any way, that is the word he used. i think the delusional arguments are coming crashing into the juggernaut of

german economic reality. one thing is clear, the 20s of the member states are united, so the pollyanna skipping by david davies and his chums is simply not going to sustain close scrutiny. theresa may is not going to get the kind of deal she is talking about. the bull throughout the uk have to focus because theresa may wants a 100 seat majority and seems headed for it, she wants to crush opposition and the scent which is not good for government, not good for democracy. we need to have mps elected who can stand up against her. none of us is in the negotiating room. we do not know what conversations are going to be had behind closed doors, what sort of conciliatory tone in reality there might be, because michel barnier is going to say this sort of

thing in public, isn't he? he might be but i have had two trips to germany and i have talked to german members of parliament and the one thing they all say from the greens to the christian democrats is this, why is your government so badly prepared and so badly briefed for these brexit negotiations? they seem to believe their propaganda. surely they cannot believe that they are going to get the kind of deal they talk about, which is free access to the european market without free movement of people. they are not going to get that access. one of the problems of the conservative party has been talking to itself and they are confronting the reality now of the 27 and the european position, and theresa may wanted to have this election, an election she promised seven times she would not hold, because she feels she has to be cushioned by huge tory majority

because it is all going to unravel. people throughout the uk and especially in scotland where we voted against brexit are going to be horrified by the disastrous terms we are going to end up with. we have to do something to oppose the conservatives. what can even listening to you seeing that, an individual voter, do? it listening to you seeing that, an individualvoter, do? it is listening to you seeing that, an individual voter, do? it is david davis and others from the 27 who are doing the negotiating. do not give theresa may unfettered power, because she will run rampant with u nfettered because she will run rampant with unfettered power. it is vital, especially in scotland, that we retire on a body of mps who will stand up against that huge conservative majority if it is elected. south of the border it is a very difficult position for voters to put themselves in, especially if they are anti—exit—mac. in scotland they are anti—exit—mac. in scotland the choice is clear, we have to

return snp mps, who the speaker has said have been a formidable group in parliament, who work hard and debate and engage, we need that. what we do not need is more clones to join theresa may's huge majority. thank you. we can get the views of the liberal democrats. the leader of the liberal democrats. the leader of the liberal democrats. the leader of the liberal democrats in the lords. michel barnier saying this is not a punishment bill but britain has to be any outstanding dues that are owed. what is your take on his stance? we are at the start of the negotiations on what happens is that both sides put their maximum position, so we are seeing, the government is saying we are not sure we should pay anything, and the eu says how about 100 billion? what is important is to get on and get the

negotiations going and a figure will be arrived that eventually that will be arrived that eventually that will be somewhere between zero and 100. there will be a lot of posturing but we wa nt there will be a lot of posturing but we want to get onto the next stage. that is interesting that is your take. i apologise that you could not hear what the guest in glasgow was saying. you feel this is a negotiation and the people should not necessarily think we are going to be hit with this final bill, the negotiating process is that. we will get a bill but it will be less than £100 billion and more than zero. the more important question is not this bill, important as it is, it is what do we think the long—term future of britain should be? we think whatever the short—term bill is that brexit is very costly for everybody in britain because we are going to be poorer as a nation and less secure asa

poorer as a nation and less secure as a nation. given that the vote is what it is, that is done and dusted, that issue is settled, the vote has been taken and we now where the country is headed, how do opposition parties that is yourself have their say? do what they feel has to be done to get the best deal for britain. given that the ultimate result cannot be changed. we will be fighting for sensible engagement with the eu but at the end of the day the key thing is that the bebop who started the process should be able to have a say on whether they think the process has been successful and should have a vote on any deal that the government reaches. not the last time we will be discussing that. thank you. we have also been hearing from you kept. their leader paul nuttall saying the european commission believes the british government can

believes the british government can be pushed around and that the british people should be punished by forcing them to pay that divorce bill. he said theresa may must be prepared to walk away from negotiations. we had the brexit secretary saying this morning that we will not be paying the latter figure but we want to know how much of the government willing to pay? as far as of the government willing to pay? as faras ukip is of the government willing to pay? as far as ukip is concerned we should not be paying anything at all. we believe the prime minister must make it clear to the eurocrats that she is prepared to walk away. we will continue to discuss brexit and michel barnier‘s comments throughout the day but we are also focusing on the day but we are also focusing on the dissolution of parliament. let us the dissolution of parliament. let us get some thoughts as to what the rest of the day holds. our parliamentary correspondent has joined me. i do not know anyone who knows more about the process of

this. remind us about the dissolution. has anything changed about today given that we had the fixed term parliament act? it used to be that the king or queen could dissolve parliament whenever they like, the most famous example being charles the first who did not like the government and ask them to back up the government and ask them to back up and go, as did oliver cromwell. although time the law involved and prime ministers decide if they want to have an election and they make the short journey from to have an election and they make the shortjourney from downing street to boxing, at buckingham palace and the ask the monarch to dissolve parliament. we had the fixed term parliament act which removed the monarch from the process and bent the prime minister technically could not decide the date of the election, it was set out in statute, and there would be date of dissolution. we thought it was sorted. theresa may said she wanted

to have this election on the 8th of june. the fixed term parliament act still worked setting out the procedure meaning there was a vote in parliament but once that had taken place we knew dissolution would take place in the early hours of this morning. that was set and it means that the election takes place 25 working days after dissolution. although the queen does not have the formal role in this, prime ministers heat giving up on that little bit of parliamentary theatre, a little bit of tradition, so you will see theresa may going to see the queen today to mark dissolution. one more little bit, later today, today to mark dissolution. one more little bit, latertoday, probably this evening, there will be proclamation announcing the date of the new parliament, and tomorrow there will be a little ceremony in there will be a little ceremony in the city of london when the sergeant at arms for the city of london corporation will read out this royal proclamation telling everybody that a new parliament has been told to

assemble and choose the the 13th of june. this is britain, we like to have pomp and ceremony. we will look forward to that tomorrow. we will be here all day, a busy day at westminster. sweden is to lift identity checks on people entering the country from denmark. another four countries from the area with similar border checks are expected to follow suit in the coming months. at border points between sweden and denmark, this has become a daily routine for the past 18 months, police carrying out identity checks on people entering the country from denmark, causing lengthy delays

for the frustration of an estimated 20,000 commuters who travel across the border daily. the measure was introduced at the height of the migration crisis, when more than 160,000 people sought asylum. that number fell to less than 30,000 last year, so the country's government is scrapping the checks but will strengthen other border controls, including surveillance cameras and vehicle x—rays. translation: apart from extended and intensified border controls, the government wants to take further action to enable police and customs to control our borders. the announcement came as the european commission recommended the same temporary border controls brought in by anotherfour countries be phased out over the next six months. the measures were also introduced by germany, austria, denmark and norway, despite being part of the passport—free schengen area. the time has come to take the last concrete steps to gradually return, as we have repeatedly said many times before, to a normal functioning of the schengen area.

more than a million migrants and refugees fled syria and other countries facing conflict in the middle east in 2015, sparking a crisis as european countries tried to deal with the influx. the announcements today will see the end of border control methods described as exceptional and a last resort. one of the uk's few killer whales which died last year was contaminated with "shocking" levels of a toxic chemical, scientists say. the animal, called lulu, was found dead on the isle of tiree. tests revealed her body contained high levels of pcb, which was banned in the 1970s. our science correspondent, rebecca morelle, reports. they are the uk's last killer whales. found off the west coast of scotland, today this pod has just eight animals. but they are in trouble.

last year the group lost a female. lulu was found dead on the shores of the inner hebrides. she had been caught up in fishing line. so, this is lulu's skull, this is the head. her skeleton is now stored at the national museum scotland. tests showed she was heavily contaminated with man—made chemicals called pcbs. the levels that we found in lulu were 20 times higher than the levels that we would expect in cetaceans that were not suffering any effects of pcbs. that puts her as one of the most contaminated animals on the planet. in killer whales the chemicals can stop the animals from bearing young. they harm the immune system and also the brain. one theory is the pcbs severely impaired her intelligence, perhaps leading to her deadly entanglement in the fishing nets. here in the laboratory, the effect of heat is shown...

pcbs were once man—made wonder chemicals, used in everything from plastics to electrics. it was later discovered that they were toxic and from the 1970s a series of bans around the world were put into place. but they have stuck around, especially in landfill sites that contain the materials they were once used in. today the pcb problem lives on, especially in our oceans. the chemicals are long—lasting and don't break down easily. there is an estimated million tonnes of the material in europe, this is coming from the land into the sea and on into the marine food chain. some scientists say more needs to be done to clear pcbs from the environment but uk officials say levels are declining. the controls we have in place is working. it is just that they take a very long time to disappear and they are probably disappearing into the sediment at the bottom of the sea, and occasionally

when that sediment is stirred up it brings it back to the surface. so it will take a very long time to disappear completely. pcbs are a global concern but with so few killer whales left in the uk it is a problem that is sharply felt. it is likely the rest of lulu's pod is also heavily contaminated, making their future very uncertain. in a moment the news at one. first the weather. the weather is not cheating is all fairly. some of us getting to enjoy plenty of sunshine. sunshine in the scottish highlands. for others it is a different story, cloud, spots of drizzle, and you can see where the

cloud has been rolling in across the south—east. it will be moving across the midlands and wales and the south—west across the afternoon so things are pretty grey across the south. further north, northern england, northern ireland and scotland, more in the way of sunshine. feeling chilly in the breeze close to the east coast. as we get through into east anglia and the south—east we have extra cloud, nine or 10 degrees. further inland with the cloud and spots of drizzle it will feel disappointingly cool through the afternoon. further north and west, north—west scotland as the best of the sunshine. this evening out and i'd northern areas will have the sunshine and clear spells overnight which will allow things to turn chilly. not as cold further south because of the extra cloud temperatures holding up well. further north particularly in the countryside you could see frost. into tomorrow, more of the same,

northern areas seeing the best of the brightness and sunshine. a bit of cloud in north—east scotland should clear quickly. further south, more cloud, some glimpses of brightness, maybe not as chilly, but the best of the weather towards the north and west. friday, similar. dry for many, sunshine, the best in the north, workload further south. things turning windy later in the day towards the south—east. a change towards the weekend, there's low— pressure towards the weekend, there's low—pressure trying to move in but not make much progress. high pressure holds firm further north so thatis pressure holds firm further north so that is where we will see the best of the sunshine through the weekend, very pleasant across north—west scotland. further south, workload, dry weather, but rain in the south and south—west on saturday. euros are dismissed by the government.

but the man in charge of negotiating britain's exit on behalf of the european union warned accounts must be settled and it won't be without pain. there is no punishment, there is no brexit bill, the financial settlement is only about settling the accords. they've offered 50bn, 60bn,100bn, we've not been given an official number ...whilst we'll meet our international obligations, we'll meet the legal ones, not the best guesses and wishes of the commission. we will have the latest from downing street and brussels. also this lunchtime. police investigating the murder of a man shot during a burglary at his home in dorset have arrested two men and a woman. the supermarket giant sainsbury‘s announce a big fall in profits —